Can.



W. J. PHELPS.

CAN.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30, 1911.

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IMLI! Patented Jan@ 7, 1913. f

@9i/knew@ UNiTED 'srariisA PATENT oratori4 WALTER J', PHELPS, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FRANK' GEBBIE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

CAN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. '7, 1913.

Application fil-ed September 30, 1911. Serial No. 852,214.

T 0 all whom t may concern: ,L

Be it known t-hat I, TALTER J. PHnnPs, a citizen of the United States, residing .at Baltimore, State of Maryland, have mvented a new and useful Can, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in cans, more particularly metal cans designed for the reception of evaporated milk, although not necessarily-confined to such particular commodity, and its object is to provide a can wherein themilk may be filled into the can through a single small central orifice while the can is in an inverted position, and ywherein milk will not accumu late about the filling orifice when the can is placed with the top uppermost, wherefore there is no interference with thc. closing of the filling orifice by solder.

In my application No. 634,052, filed June 19, 1911, for can filling apparatus, there is disclosed an apparatus for filling cans with evaporated milk., the filling being performed through a small central filling orifice of such diameter as to be readily closed by a small drop of lsolder after the filling operation has' been completed. For reasons which need not be entered into here, but which are .fully explained in the aforesaid application the cans are. placed in an inverted position during the filling operation so that what may be termed the top of t-he can is lowermost and the bottom of the can uppermost. When the filling operation is completed the cans are reversed so that the cover or top of the can is then uppermost, the can resting on the ,end which may be termed the bottom of the can. During the filling operation the inner wall of the perforated t-op of the can has become wetted by the milk and when the can is restored to the ordinary upright position there vwill accumulate about t-he filling orifice a considerable body of milk unless provision be made to prevent such accumulation and an accumulation such as stated is found practice to interfere Very materially wit ne final sealingof the can by the application of a small drop of solder at the small filling orifice, which latter may be of a diameter as small as, or smaller than onesixteenth of an inch. If there be any material accumulation of milk about the filling orifice on the inner face of the top of the can, the liquid constituents of the accumulated milk must be evaporated before the temperature of the particular portion of the can being soldered can be raised sufiiciently to cause the solder'to unite with the metal of the can.

By the present invent-ion the arrangement is such that any milk which may adhere to the inner face of the top of the can when the can is returned to normal position after being filled, will gravitate away from the filling orifice so that there is a considerable area about this orifice quite free from any milk except perhaps the merest film which may adhere by capillary attraction, but if present at all the film is so thin that the liquid constituents are driven ofi' almost instantaneously and practice has demonstrated that such film if present does not interfere to any sensible extent with the soldering operation, and, furthermore, there is no dryin out and possible scorching of an appreciadrcle body of milk on theinner face of the cover, not present. l

In carrying out the present invention `the cover is so made that for a considerable area about the filling orifice the material of the cover slopes downwardly, considering the can as being supported upon the bottom end on a level surface, and consequently any milk which mayladhere to the inner face of the cover or top of the can will gravitate away from the lling orifice toward the lower portions of the cover, thus preventing for such body of milk is any accumulation in the immediate neighborhood of the filling orifice so that there is no interference with the lsoldering operaing, however, that while in the drawings there is shown a practical embodiment of the invention it is not limited to any exact conformity with the showing of the drawings, but the structure may be changed and modified so long as the salient features of the invention are retained and results aimed at are accomplished.

In the drawings :-Figure '1 is a diametric section of a can constructed in accordance with the present invention and in the filling position. Fig. 2 is a similar View with the can in the upright or normal position after being filled. Fig. 3 is al plan view of the top or filling end of the can.

In the drawings there is shown a can l comprising in the particular structure shown a cylindrical body with a top or head end 2 and a bottom 3, bothV ends being provided with a respective marginal flange 4 designed to embrace :the corresponding end of the body of the can, the top and bottom members being usually soldered in place, and it is also customary, though not.

absolutely essential, to dish both ends of the can to a slight extent. The head 2 is provided at the center with a small Filling orifice 5 customarily at the center of the head or top end of the can and having its margins inturned, sincethis orifice is usually produced by a tool displacing the met-al of the can without removing any of it in the formation of the orifice.

For the purposes of the present invention that portion of the top 2 containing the oriice 5 is nearer the plane of the outer edge of the top than the portion of the walls surrounding it, and these wall'sslope away fromthe orifice in the form of` a fiat'cone or con'id 6, the base of which where joining the rest of the head or cap member 2 is of l an appropriate diameter.

For manufacturing .reasons the upper portion of the cone 'should not extend higher than the plane of the margin of the top, nor should the base of the cone extend into the can to a greater extent than the plane of the margin of4 the flange 4 of the top of the can, but the slope of the cone 6 when the can is resting on a level surface with the head uppermost should be such that any accumulations of milk or other material filled into the! can where clinging to the inner surface of the top of the can about the orifice will gravitate toward the base of the cone and, furthermore, the cone should be of a diameter such that any milk accumulating at the base of the cone by' gravitation along theinner walls of the cone will be suiiiciently removed from the filling orifice to permit the heating of the latter by the soldering tool 4to such a deas to cause the proper adherence of the solder to the walls of the top of the can at the filling orifice.

To impart the requisite slope to the walls of the cone 6 the top of the can ma be dished more or less; as indicated at 7,W erefore the top of the can is then not in a plane, but in the form of a shallow inverted frusto-cone frein the smaller end of which rises the cone 6, provided with the orifice 5. In practice the slope of the cone 6 need not be so pronounced as indicated in the drawings, and the portion 7 of the top or cover of the can may be nearly or quite plane, depending upon the degree of dish given to the cover of the can, but whatever be the structure the inclination of the walls of the central vconge-al portion 6 should be i dotted lines adjacent the basic portions of the cone 6.

While cans constructed in accordance with the present invention ma be used with other commodities than milk, they are especially adapted for the packaging of evaporated milk and for manufacturing and other reasons the cans are wholly sealed before' filling with the exception of the single central small perforation, throu h which the can is ultimately filled with t e milk, the perforation though relatively small being amply large for the introduction of the milk and the outow of a-ir displaced from the can by the infiowing milk. Because of the minute filling orifice the final sealing operation is very expeditiously performed and requiresbut a minute portion of solder to complete the sealing.

It is not uncommon toprovide cans with large filling orifices, so large in fact as to require an additional cap member to close them, such cap member being finally united .with the top of the can by solder, but the amount of solder required is many times that necessary -for the closin of the cans of the present invention and w ere the mar 'n of profit is small, the difference in cost ue to the sealing operations is very material.

What is claimed is A can having one head permanently closed and theother head permanently connected to the body of the can, said lastnamed head having a'central portion provided with a centralized perforation, the walls of the central portion definingV a low frusto-core, and the remainder-of the walls of said head defining anothery low 'frustocone in inverted relation with respect to the first-.named frusto-.cone 'the basic cone uniting, said second-named can head In testimony that I claim the foregoing bl'ing provided with a marginal flange proas my own, I have hereto aixed'my signin:-` jecting axially from one face of said head, ture in the presencof two witnesses.

and the frusto-conical portions of the can- WALTER l PHELPS.

y 6 head bein(g confined substantially rwithin Vitnesses:

` the limits fined by the planes of the two JOHN H. SIGGERS,

edges of the ange. FRANCES PEYTON SMITH.

Oonies o1 this patent may be obtained for ave cents each, by aldressing the Commissionerof Patents,

Washington, D. c." 

